


why is it so hard to accept the party is over?

by archiebettyveronica



Category: Archie Comics & Related Fandoms, Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Betty Cooper Needs a Hug, Canon Compliant, F/M, It’s the kind of normal teen angst that rd doesn’t really do often, Light Angst, One-Sided Attraction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:54:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26255254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/archiebettyveronica/pseuds/archiebettyveronica
Summary: betty gets comfort from an unexpected person.or, what happens after archie and veronica go in the closet and betty storms out.
Relationships: Betty Cooper & Reggie Mantle, Betty Cooper/Reggie Mantle
Comments: 5
Kudos: 33





	why is it so hard to accept the party is over?

**Author's Note:**

> i posted this on tumblr last night, and i really wasn’t sure if i was gonna post it here because i wrote and edited in the span of an hour and posted it right after i finished it. it’s grown on me, so i decided to post it, also because there aren’t enough beggie fic out there. it’s very different from what i usually write, but kinda similar in terms of the vibe and style.
> 
> though they aren’t my absolute favorite pairing, i really think they’d be interesting to experiment with after the time jump in season 5. i like them as a pairing in the comics. 
> 
> Anyways, as always, comments and kudos are much appreciated

He finds her standing in the driveway outside the party. She’s shivering, and he can hear quietly crying. He grapples with whether or not he should check on her. After a minute, he finds himself walking towards her.

“Hey Coop,” he says cautiously.

“What do you want, Reggie,” she asks, her voice sounding a little hoarse. She sniffles and wipes the tears she’d let fall when she was alone. Her hands return to her arms, pulling herself into a tighter hug in a feeble attempt to warm herself.

“I came to check on you,” he says, his voice is quiet and uncharacteristically soft. When she turns towards him, he looks genuinely concerned. She’s not sure if this is all some elaborate act he’s putting on to embarrass her even more. He’s never been mean to her, but he’s never gone out of his way to be kind to her either.

She supposes that she could’ve spared herself the embarrassment and just not reacted to Archie going into that closet with Veronica. But she’d waited so long to tell him how she feels and, suddenly, there’s a new girl in the picture. Veronica is everything she isn’t. She’s beautiful, worldly, and confident. She can’t compete with that. She knows she shouldn’t think like that because Veronica is nice and it’s not a competition, but she can’t help it.

“Well, you can go back to the party,” she says. “I’m fine.”

“Take my jacket,” he says, taking off his jacket and placing it on her shoulders before she can say anything. She gives him a small smile in lieu of a thank you.

He doesn’t try to ask her why she stormed out. He just stands there with her quietly, hands stuffed in pockets, staring at the night sky. The silence between them isn’t awkward. It’s nice. She’s never been around this version of Reggie. It’s strange but not unwelcome.

“I told Archie I like him at the dance tonight,” she finds herself saying before she can stop herself. “He doesn’t feel the same.” Her voice gets quiet when she says that last part. She looks over at him, and he’s already looking at her. She can’t quite decipher the look on his face, but she knows it’s not one of pity. 

“It’s his loss,” he says earnestly, a small smile overtaking his face. He nervously shifts his weight from his left to his right foot. “If I were him, I would’ve never turned you away.” He says the last part so quietly she almost doesn’t hear him.

“You’re just saying that because you feel bad for me,” she says, though she knows that’s not true from the way he’s looking at her.

“I’m not,” he says, his voice is small, but she can hear the seriousness in his tone. “You don’t have to say anything.” And he means it. 

He’s like her since they were nine, and she’d bandaged him up after a particularly nasty fall on his bike. She’d kissed his cheek and told him he’d be okay. He doesn’t blame her for not returning his feelings, not with how he’d turned out. Reggie knows there’s no version of reality where he ends up with Betty Cooper, and he’s okay with that.

“I’ll walk you home,” he says since he knows there’s no chance she’s going back inside. He’d have offered her a ride home, but he already had two beers, and he’s not as irresponsible as people like to think.

“Okay,” is all she says before they’re headed in the direction of Elm Street.

The walk is quiet, only the clicking of her heels against the asphalt to fill the night. When they get to her doorstep, she hands him his jacket and thanks him before unlocking the door and heading inside. 

“Hey, Coop,” he says before she can get her other foot over the threshold, she feels his hand on her shoulder, so she turns. “You’ll be okay.” He echos words she’d once said to him, back when her hair was always in pigtails, and he’d been happier.

“I know,” she says. 

“See you at school,” he says, turning to go. She stops him and stands on tiptoes, leaning in to kiss his cheek.

“Thank you.”

His cheek burns where her lips touched, and there’s a smile on his face that doesn’t disappear until his eyes finally shut, and his breathing evens out. Even then, there’s still a ghost of a smile on his lips.

**Author's Note:**

> you can find me on tumblr (@archiebettyveronica) and say hi 👋


End file.
